I Am A Pretty Piece of Flesh
by TheyTriedToWarnMe
Summary: Late one night, there arises a knock at the door of Order of the Phoenix headquarters. It is Severus Snape with a bleeding, dying Blaise Zabini. They bring with them Hermione's dark past. I suck at summaries! Just read it, please!
1. Chapter 1

I am a Pretty Piece of Flesh

Warning: I don't own any of this!

Oh and, this is rated for a reason!

Plot: After Dumbledore's death, Hermione joins the Order of the Phoenix. But her secret past comes back to haunt her when Blaise Zabini is brought to Headquarters by the fugitive Severus Snape. Romance/Drama/Action/Humor

_Prologue: Thou Art Not Quickly Moved to Strike_

Hermione traced her finger lazily around the tip of her tea cup and smiled at the old man in front of her. Moody was scowling at her cheeky grin and the merry twinkle in her eyes.

"So what are you going to do, old man? It's your move."

"You think I didn't bloody know that!" She laughed at his words. His magical eye swiveled madly in his head, before settling on the door directly behind her. He made a groaning noise deep in his throat and knocked a chess piece forward. Hermione lifted the cup to her lips and allowed a sour cold tea to run past her lips. She made a noise of disgust and set it on the table next to them.

"Checkmate." She teased as she moved a piece forward. There was a knock at the door Moody had been staring at earlier. Her hand went instantly to her wand, and he stood silently. She moved to standbehind the door. Moody stood in the same spot and opened the door with a flick of his own wand. There, stood a disheveled Severus Snape, with a bleeding...something, leaning on his shoulder. Hermione pushed them both in through the door and Moody bound Snape to a chair. His wand was pushed to Snape's throat, but the greasy man just glared at the bloodied boy on the couch. Hermione edged her way cautiously around the criminal to examine the boy.

"Moody, this is Blaise Zabini!" she cried. Her hands flew to his throat, to feel for a pulse. She gasped at the low pitiful heartbeat of the dying Zabini. Both Order members flew into action, stripping the boy and calling in Molly Weasley, the Order's temporary nurse. As Molly fluttered around the still form of Blaise, Hermione backed up slowly. Her heel hit something solid and she spun, wand at the ready. Severus Snape looked up from his chair, where he was bound and gagged. She looked into the obsidian depths and saw flashes of memories that she had thought were dead. Now she knew she was wrong. Her gaze lifted to Moody and Molly who were levitating the body out the door, and went back to Severus' face. _Forgive me. Forgive me._It chanted silently. She shook her head and went after the two adults.

Hermione paced the hallway outside Moody's office. He had been questioning Severus Snape for half an hour while Blaise's life slowly gave out. He was barely breathing upstairs on her bed, with several wizards keeping him alive. Occasionally, Hermione would hear a slap resound through the thin walls. She cringed everytime she heard Moody's hand come in contact with what she assumed was Severus' face. She could remember when Severus was working for the Light. He would sit in his Order Office for hours, thinking through Voldemort's latest scheme. She remembered many a night when she would be sipping tea in the kitchen and he would come storming it, with an idea hot on his brain.

Then...That night happened. The night of Dumbledore's death. It had affected everyone hard, especially the members of the Order of the Phoenix. Hermione remembered the late nights of sitting up with Harry and Ron, in dead silence, thinking. Hating. When the opportunity arose for one of them to join the Order, Hermione stepped up to the challenge, knowing it was her place. Ron wasn't as swift on his feet as she was, and his brains weren't anywhere near her level. Harry had enough on his plate as it was--and she saw the affects of it in his dulling green eyes. She made the decision before running it past them. She knew they wouldn't approve and probably wouldn't allow it.

Hermione was inducted into the Order of the Phoenix the night she gave McGonagall her decision. The Elite bound her to the Order with a small Phoenix mark on her ankle. An assignment was given to her the next morning and it dictated the situation she was currently in--to save Blaise or Severus.


	2. Chapter 2

_Chapter 1 The Quarrel is Between our Masters, and Us their Men_

Hermione's back was pressed against the cool corridor wall. It felt as if she had run a marathon, and still had the home stretch to go. The ominous clicking of shoes against the stone grew ever nearer, and she felt her heart rate increase. She could run, or she could stay in place and pray it was a student. The latter seemed better, considering the only teacher ever out at that time was Dumbledore. Slowly, Hermione turned her head to the left, to peek cautiously around the corner. To her utter amazement she didn't see anyone and boldly took a step out. "Bad move, Granger," a voice said sullenly, before everything Hermione knew went dark.

Things were moving around her. She wasn't sure where she was, but she knew there were at least a dozen people around her. Hermione couldn't quite recognize any of the voices. She heard the sound of an old door being pushed opened, and her body being transferred to one captor to another. He groaned under her weight and laid her down on what felt like an old moldy mattress. Her eyes snapped open, but could not make much out of anything. The only light filtering into the room was from the open door and the faint light of the moon. She tried to sit up, but the dizziness when she did forced her down again. Her captor looked at her quizzically, before mumbling "Oh Merlin Granger, they're going to eat you alive." She gave him a questioning look, before her world was once again dark.

Several hours later she awoke again and began to take notice of her surroundings. The cell wasn't very large: only about 8 feet wide and 4 feet long, barely big enough to stretch one's legs out. She sighed unhappily at the two windows, both at the top of the cell. There was no escaping through there. At least they were kind enough to put a dirty mattress in here, she thought unhappily. Unconsciously, she started to weep. Huge, fat tears rolled down her cheeks and hit the mattress with individual _plops. _Hermione was startled from her grief by at groan in the far corner. She slid off the mattress to cautiously walk to the corner where she heard the groan. As she made her way, she noticed it was a fairly large mass, and was quite obviously human. Swallowing the knot of tension building in her throat, she nudged it's legs with her bare toes.

"What in the bloody hell do you think you're doing!" It cried out. Hermione screamed and retreated to her corner. Her eyes grew wide with the realization of who's voice had just shouted at her. Professor Severus Snape was sitting in the corner of _her_ cell. "Oh my Merlin...Professor?" she said, astounded. Cautiously she rose again.

"Oh very astute, Miss Granger. Ten points to Gryffindor." He snapped sarcastically. She drew back in indignation. How dare he! she screamed in her mind. "You are a great big bully, Snape. I was only curious."

"Yes, well, curiousity killed the cat. And this particular cat decided to take us with him." Snape said bitterly. Hermione snorted in amusement. She sat down on the mattress again, assessing the situation. Snape was thrown into this prison with her. Her Potions professor was sitting some seven feet away from her."

"Are you hurt, sir?" she said softly, hoping that she wouldnt have to perform a role as a nurse that night. "No, Miss Granger, I'm quite alright."

"Are they going to look for us?" Hermione said, careful not to let too much hope show. Even her voice betrayed her, for Snape paused before he answered. He looked at her in the darkness, which he assumed meant it was close to midnight. _The Witching Hour _he thought mournfully in his mind. She was biting her lip nervously, a false hope tracing her eyes naively. "They might come for you, Miss Granger. I, however, have failed in my mission. I will be the first to perish." Snape said honestly, hoping it offered some kind of hope for the girl. Her eyes darted to the window again, fighting tears back desperately. Hermione knew Ron and Harry would look for her, but their success was doubtful--she was always the brains of their operations.

Meanwhile at Hogwarts

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN HERMIONE IS MISSING!" roared the furious Ron Weasley. His fists were pounding on Dumbledore's desk, as Harry Potter sat stoic in a chair. His face was betraying no emotion, much like his mentor Dumbledore. Even with the raging Weasley raising all kinds of hell in front of him, he was focused on the letter crumbled in his hand. _Potter, we have your little friend. She will die in two days._It read morbidly. Hermione's smile appeared instantly behind his eyes, hair flitting around her face like mad, a smudge of ink just above her right eyebrow. She was his best friend, given Ron, he cared about her like no other. He held the letter in his hands like it was the only link left between himself and Hermione. He could almost hear her voice in his head saying "Don't do anything stupid, Harry. Don't do anything Ron would do."

"Mr. Weasley please sit down." He said calmly. Ron ignored him, and continued his rant. "HOW COULD YOU LET THIS HAPPEN! I THOUGHT YOU HAD THAT BIG GREASY BAT WATCHING HER!" he shouted. Harry smiled slightly at this particular outburst. Snape had been trailingHermione on Dumbledore's orders since July. It was now October, Hermione's favorite month. She had always spent more time outdoors during this month, to feel the briskScottish air caress herface and twisting her hair. Snape had been doing a good job, he always disguised himself as some small child or old lady. Hermione had never suspected athing, but Ron and Harryfound it difficult to keep the secret from her. They all knew she would go absolutely bonkers if she found out she was being followed. Even though it was to protect her if Ron or Harry could not, she always told them they were more valuable to the fight than she. Harry again remembered her laugh theprevious day, full of melodyand delicate like glass."Ron! Sit down." Harry said fiercely, suddenly full of contempt. Ron turned, mouth agape. "B-b-but Harry…I'm getting answers."

"No, you're making yourself look like an ass. Sit. Down." Ron obeyed. Dumbledore smiled at them both and extended a glass forward to them. "Lemon drop, boys?" he said wistfully. Harry shook his head no and Ron mumbled under his breath about forcefully shoving a lemon drop down Dumbledore's throat.

"Both Professor Snape and Hermione were captured by the owlery..." Dumbledore said slowly, trying to catch Harry's eye. But Harry was too busy staring out the window to the owlery. He remembered her saying something about having to mail a letter to someone in Rome before she went to sleep. Silently Harry cursed Hermione's love for staying up late into the night, finishing all her work perfectly. He smiled sadly at the image of Hermione in her pajamas, sneaking silently into the hallway to mail a letter off. Harry couldn't bear the thought of her gone any longer. "Dumbledore, just tell us: How are we going to get her back?" he interrupted. Dumbledore smiled and lifted his blackened hand out of his robe pockets and laid it on the table in front of him. He looked at them both before starting to speak, "Well boys..."

Author's Notes Hello everyone! I must say I'm quite pleased I actually got reviews! Thank you to all who reviewed. I'm trying to update fairly regularly, but I am a high school student so I'm also kind of busy. But about once a week, I'll update for you. Reviews make the writer happy! Samantha A.


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